Classic Car Pageant

My mate Ian picked me up in his recently restored 1996 Mini Traveller, the one his did the 2009 Italian Job in, and we headed off to the TT Grandstand for the start of the Classic Car Pageant.

The weather was a little poor, with mist and drizzle, which probably affected the turnout. As it was organised by the local Rolls Royce / Bentley owners they had a good turn out There was also a few Minis, Porsches, VWs, MGBs and a few other makes including a prototype Maseratai and a DeLorean.

The drivers were given a choice of several different routes of similar lengths to navigate in order to not have a huge procession of cars, all following each other, with the idea being we would all meet up at the same time to enjoy a picnic.

The route was quite easy to follow and we eventually ended up in a paddock in the north of the island for a slightly soggy picnic. Some of the Rolls Royce owners enjoyed cucumber sandwiches on the fold down tables in the back of their cars while Ian and I had a jam sandwich in the back of his Mini Traveller.

Despite the weather it was an enjoyable afternoon and a chance to see some rare cars including three vintage Bentleys that were worth about half a million pounds. It only confirmed my idea that there must be a lot of interesting, rare and valuable cars tucked away in garages and barns on the island.